Black Pearls (1996)

Elizabeth spent two years developing Black Pearls, a fragrance she described as “tropical, sensual, but light.” The launch of Black Pearls was fraught with setbacks. It was originally slated to roll out in October 1995, but was postponed until March of the following year. She was dissatisfied with “the cheap-looking bottle they were planning to use.” When the fragrance was finally rolled out, it was backed by an estimated $7 million print and TV advertising campaign, with Herb Ritts photographing Elizabeth for both. The TV advertisement begins with a wave breaking, a flash of lightning, and palm fronds silhouetted against a brooding sky. “There’s a power that slows the wind and stills the seas,” a voiceover says before Elizabeth—hair slicked back, wearing a rope of pearls and earrings, submerged in water up to her neck—whispers the name of her latest fragrance. “A fragrance set apart, from Elizabeth Taylor,” the narration concludes.

Where’s the Pearls?

To promote the release of Black Pearls, Elizabeth made crossover appearances on four CBS sitcoms—The Nanny, Can’t Hurry Love, Murphy Brown, and High Society—which aired on the eve of her 64th birthday in February 1996. The pearls, which she’s set to wear in a photo shoot, mysteriously disappear during The Nanny, and aren’t recovered until the final scene of High Society.